FEDS: EX-STUDENT PLOTTED TO STEAL CAMPUS ELECTION

A former Cal State San Marcos student who authorities said stole the identities and passwords of about 740 students to rig campus elections made his first appearance in the case in a San Diego federal court Friday.

Matthew Weaver of Huntington Beach faces four federal charges, including wire fraud, access device fraud and unauthorized use of a computer. U.S. Magistrate Judge William Gallo set Weaver’s bail at $20,000 on Friday.

Weaver’s attorney, John Kirby, did not respond Friday to requests for comment.

Weaver was one of two candidates running in March to be president of the school’s Associated Students Inc., or student council, when the alleged fraud was uncovered.

Besides linking Weaver to the stolen passwords and identities of more than 700 students, federal investigators said the school’s records link Weaver to the online votes cast by about 634 students, court records said.

School officials have said it was the largest identity theft case — and the only one of its kind — in the university’s 24-year history.

The investigation into the identity theft started when the university’s computer technicians alerted police to odd activity on a computer, authorities said.

On the last day of the election, March 15, campus police found Weaver at a school computer and in possession of a keylogger — a small electronic device that secretly records a computer user’s keystrokes. Federal investigators soon stepped in.

Court documents say Weaver purchased three keyloggers more than a month before the election. A search of Weaver’s laptop revealed queries including “jail time for keylogger,” and “how to rig an election.”

His computer also contained a spreadsheet with the stolen student identities, court records said.

In addition, investigators said they found a PowerPoint presentation in Weaver’s computer, proposing that he run for campus president and that four of his fraternity brothers run for the four vice president spots in the student government.

The presentation notes that the president’s job came with an $8,000 stipend, and the vice presidential spots each had a $7,000 stipend.

Weaver was a member of a fraternity that has not had standing on the university’s campus since it was kicked off in 2005 for a series of violations, school officials said.

Concerned with election tampering, the student council threw out the election results last year and started from scratch.